Never Stop
by FortunesArkHero
Summary: Despite the dust of his heart slipping between the Dark One's fingers, Killian Jones never stopped loving Emma Swan.


**This was written for my friend on tumblr. This is completely AU of how I want the episode to go. This also turned out way longer than expected but I love how this turned out. Please read, review, favorite and follow and most importantly, enjoy! Also have tissues.**

**Warning: Major Character Death**

The town of Storybrooke was in complete and utter chaos.

The spell of shattered sight affected almost everyone, only Elsa and Emma remained untouched. And like the mad man he was, Gold was delighted at the very site of everything. Of course, he and his puppet were protected from Ingrid's magic. Gold wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to allow her to manipulate them, not when he had his own manipulating to do. There was just one final thing left to do to free himself from the hold of the dagger forever, and he wanted to make sure that he had a grand audience for that. It all included the man who stood in his shop with a glaring look in his eyes. Killian swallowed hard as Gold pulled out his heart from a small box.

"I'm quite surprised, captain. Not a speck of black."

"That's because I've changed. I have fought with every fiber of my being to be a better person. You will never-"

Killian was brought to his knees by the agonizing pain as he clutched his chest. "I would watch what you say to me, Jones," as he gripped the heart just a bit tighter. "I might kill you sooner than you think if you keep that up." Killian staggered to his feet. The pain subsided the second that Gold's fingers no longer gripped his heart. All that was left was a dull ache where his heart should've been. "Then why haven't you killed me yet? You had me collect everyone you wanted to get your hands on. What's stopping you, crocodile?" Gold gave him a toothy grin and narrowed his eyes on to him. "Your time will come, dearie, you can be sure of that. But when your death comes, the only favor I'll grant you is that you won't die alone. Your death will break a certain savior. Your death will shatter her either way, but I'd rather you die in the arms of your _twu wuv_. That will decimate her."

Killian's eyes shot wide, his jaw clenched and he balled his fist at his side. "That's your plan then: to kill me in front of Emma so she won't put up a fight when you use the hat against her." "Well, you're cleverer than you let on. Your heart doesn't have to be intact for me to use it to free me from the dagger. All I need is the dust of your heart and it'll still work perfectly fine. Now," Gold said as he stood in front of Killian. "Let's go find your girlfriend, because it'll be the last time you ever see each other." Gold forced Killian out of the shop and into the chaos that was Storybrooke.

* * *

><p>Everyone was at each other's throats (quite literally). Emma and Elsa tried to keep everyone calm, but they were berated by the very people they tried to help. They knew they couldn't take it to heart. It was the damn spell. They knew that they meant none of it. That didn't change the fact every word they said to them cut at them like a sharp knife. Ingrid stood on the main street in front of the clock tower, watching joyously as the citizens of Storybrooke fell to her spell and tried to kill each other. She had no reason to fear if they turned their attention to her. They were too busy spewing hate to each other.<p>

"Mom, you have to listen to me! None of what you're saying is the truth! This is all the Snow Queen's fault. It's the spell. You don't mean any of this."

"Why couldn't you have been born normal? Don't you realize the misery you have caused to your father and me? The danger you pose to Neal and Henry? You hurt your own son! How do any of us know if we're safe around a monster like you!?" She doesn't mean of it. It's the damn mirror. Mary Margaret would never say anything like that to Emma. "I'm going to fix this," Emma said, bravely. She turned her sights on Ingrid, but knew she couldn't defeat her. The ribbon around her wrist absorbed her magic. Cautiously, she approached the Snow Queen.

"This has to stop! If you ever cared about me and Elsa, you would respect what we want and stop all of this! We want our friends and family to be safe. This isn't the way to create your family. Everything you have done, in your own twisted way, has been out of love." Ingrid swallowed the lump in her throat hard. She cared for Emma, but she didn't see. "This is all for you and Elsa. To see the fear and anger of everyone you thought cared about you come to light. This is what lies in their hearts, Emma. They were all just too afraid to admit it. Now, they don't have to hold back. You can see for yourself the fear that they have of you."

"Well, dearie, it's a good thing that _I _fear no one. Not even the savior."

Gold stood a few feet away from them, Killian at his side with the object of despair in his hand. "Killian? What are you-" He shook his head with a face contorted with guilt. "You, my dear Snow Queen, have been a thorn in my side ever since I learned you were here. And I think it's time for you to go. Captain, if you please." Killian screwed his eyes shut as he handed the hat to Gold. "How is it possible that you two are unaffected? The spell of shattered sight should have gotten to everyone except Emma and Elsa." Gold smirked as he released the hat from its confinement in the small box. "I'm the Dark One, dearie. Dark magic doesn't affect me. And I had to make sure that my errand boy didn't do anything stupid." It was then that he pulled out Killian's heart from his coat pocket.

Emma's eyes widened in horror. It all made sense now, why he was acting so differently, why he looked like if he took his eyes away from her, he would never see her again. It was because he was a dead man walking living on borrowed time. Anytime he looked at Emma could've been his last. "You're a sadistic bastard, Gold!" Emma spat at him. Gold smirked as his grip tightened around the heart and Killian collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain. "Don't worry, Ms. Swan. He won't be in pain for much longer." Rumple pointed the hat toward Ingrid and Emma. Ingrid tried to use her ice to freeze the hat, but her brows knitted as she saw that her power was becoming a whirlwind that was sucked into the object. "Oh, dearie, you knew that wouldn't work."

"Emma, run!" And Killian tackled Gold to the ground, and the hat and heart dropped to the ground with him.

Emma bolted to Killian as Rumple gathered the heart and hat in his hands, his grip on the heart tightening ever so slightly. Killian cried out in pain again as Emma held him in her arms and tried to calm him. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Ingrid was no more, sucked into the Sorcerer's hat. In the midst of the chaos, Emma held Killian close to her, tears streaming down her face. "You idiot," she whispered softly. "Why didn't you tell me?" Killian gave her a tired look. There was nothing he could do, not with his heart in the hands of the Dark One. "I couldn't. I wanted to, so much. I am so sorry. I just wanted to be with you, to be a better man for you and I failed. Emma, I am so sorry." Emma held him close to her chest as his own tears fell down his face. God, he wished Gold would just end his suffering. He couldn't bear to see Emma in pain.

He looked into her scared emerald eyes. "I love you, Emma." Her face crumpled as she dipped her head, their foreheads touching. "I have always loved you and I always will. Death cannot stop that. No matter what happens to me, I will always love you." Emma brought her lips down to his in a sweet and gentle kiss that she wished could save him. "I love you, Killian," she whispered, just for him. She pressed her lips against his again, hoping, damn near praying that she wished she could do something. She couldn't save the man that she loved.

Killian grunted against her lips as his body went slack in her arms. Emma looked at him, his eyes closed and his face looked at peace. No more pain. "Killian?" she said with a broken voice. She lightly shook him, but knew that it wouldn't do anything. "Killian! Wake up, please! Killian, please!" She let the tears fall freely down her face and plop down onto his skin. "You promised you wouldn't leave me. You said you could survive." Emma pressed her lips to his forehead and held him close to her chest. Killian was dead. It wasn't fair. She had finally found someone she was happy with, someone she absolutely and fully loved, who unconditionally loved her, and he was ripped away from her. She knew that he always loved her. From the moment they came home from Neverland, she knew.

Despite the dust of his heart slipping between the Dark One's fingers, Killian Jones never stopped loving Emma Swan.

Emma looked over her shoulder, her eyes full of tears, hatred and disgust. Gold should've known what it's like to be controlled and helpless and forced to hurt people that you didn't want to hurt. Emma felt something surge within her. She knew what it was. Ingrid was gone, the ribbons were useless. And Gold didn't know. She was going to destroy him. She pressed one more kiss to Killian's forehead and gently laid him on the ground. He narrowed his eyes onto her. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected for her to try and fight back. Before he could even point the hat in her direction, a blast of white magic threw him back, his hat and dagger free from his grasp.

Gold scrambled to get the dagger, but it was now in the hands of the savior. "I should kill you for everything you've done. But I'm not like you." Her grip on the hilt of the dagger tightened, her knuckles were turning white. "Answer me this: is there a way to save him? Can I revive his heart?" And that's when she looked at the pile of dust that lay mere feet away. "I command you, Dark One, answer me!"

"Yes! There is a way."

There was a way to save him. She was going to save him and she didn't care for the price.

"Only his true love can save him. As a product of true love, as the savior gifted with white magic, you can revive his heart." Her stomach tied into a knot. This would be over and she would have her true love with her. "How?" she asked, sternly. "You must collect the dust of his heart and focus your magic onto it. It's never been done. Many have failed."

"I'm not 'many'. I'm the savior and that's what I'm going to do."

Emma tucked the dagger on the inside of her jacket after commanding him to stay still. She gently knelt over the dust of Killian's heart, cupping her hands over it. She closed her eyes and thought of Killian, her true love. She thought of how bright she saw his heart, how it was red and untouched by darkness, how pure and loving it had become. Killian had changed because he knew true love. His love for Emma changed him. He hadn't failed her. He could never fail her. "I need you," she spoke, softly to the pile of dust. "I need him. I need him to come back to me. I can't lose him. We fought for each other and I am not giving up on him. Bring back what once was mine." And beneath her hands, she heard the beat she thought she would never hear again. In her hands was Killian's heart, healthy and strong. "I did it," she said, shocked.

Immediately, she went to Killian's lifeless body. She raised the heart to her lips and pressed a kiss to it before placing it on his chest. Emma closed her eyes and gently shoved the heart into his chest. Emma opened her eyes and pulled Killian into her arms, his head rested in the crook of her left arm, while her right hand rested over his chest. She felt his chest move up and down and his heartbeat beneath her palm. Oh, god, he was _alive_! He was going to be ok! Emma moved her right hand and cupped his face. "Killian? Just follow my voice. Come back to me. I need you. I love you."

Killian's bright blue eyes shot open and he gasped and coughed, harshly. "Hey! Hey, it's ok. You're gonna be ok. Just breathe. Look at me, Killian. Just breathe." After a moment, Killian calmed down and strenuously sat up. "Emma? What did you do? My heart... it was-" Emma shushed him as she caressed his cheek. She gave him a nod, confirming what he already knew. "It was, but my magic was able to restore it. I stopped Gold and made him tell me how." He saw the dagger inside her coat. Emma helped Killian stand up, her hand never let go of his. "I love you, Emma." "I love you, too."

Killian lowered his lips onto Emma's and a burst of magic whooshed throughout Storybrooke. The two pulled away from each other as they looked around themselves. The chaos was gone. "Killian, I think-" "We just broke the Snow Queen's curse." The two smiled as he pulled her into a hug, smiling into the crook of her neck. Everyone ran to them, and Mary Margaret spoke first. "Emma, I never meant those words. It was the spell. You know that I love you. Your powers make you who you are and we all love you no matter what powers you have or wouldn't have." "I know." Emma turned her attention to Belle, and pulled out the dagger, gently depositing into her hands. "Emma, I'm so sorry. Had I known, he would've been stopped. Killian would've never-" Emma shook her head. Belle didn't need to apologize, she just needed to know what to do with Gold.

Emma looked back at Killian, burying her head into his chest. She heard his heartbeat. And it was a wonderful sound. She found her true love, had lost him and had saved him. She wasn't going to lose him. Not ever again. They will never stop loving each other.

**And you probably thought I would be horrible and keep him dead. I fully believe that he will get his heart back at the mid-season finale. I hope you all enjoyed this! Did I make you cry? (I'm sorry...not sorry)**

**Thank you all for reading this! Please review, favorite, and follow!**

**Until next time!**


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